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Mentoring scheme helps around 100 burnt out GPs continue practising

Exclusive Some 100 GPs suffering from burnout may have been persuaded to stay in the profession through a new mentoring scheme, its GP lead has revealed.

The Health Education England scheme, which has to date been run in three areas in the East Midlands, helps GPs who are struggling with burnout and considering leaving the profession by pairing them up with former GPs who are trained in mentoring.

Already, around 100 GPs in Derbyshire, Nottinghamshire and Lincolnshire have used the GP-S peer-mentoring scheme since it was set up 18 months ago.

According to the scheme’s GP lead in Derbyshire, Dr Ilona Bendefy, the scheme's success has attracted interest from other areas, with GPs in Shropshire, Staffordshire and Leicestershire looking to expand it into their areas.

Dr Bendefy said that out of the GPs that have provided feedback after taking part in the scheme, all decided to remain in general practice with some choosing to work in a different way.

She said that after the mentorship programme, some GPs stop being a partner and become a salaried GP or only work part-time, while others remain in their partnership but reduce the number of sessions they do.

She told Pulse: ‘It’s almost like they can’t make that move until they’ve talked it through with a peer and given themselves permission.’

She said the scheme was set up to ‘catch people before they reach these ultimately difficult stages and put the joy back into work’.

The scheme, which works alongside the GP health service, sees GPs go to four two-hour sessions over six to 12 months.

Dr Bendefy said GPs undertake the programme because they feel they are ‘at a crossroads and they don’t know where to go next’.

She said: ‘So it can be both for motivation, to get the enjoyment out of work and that feeling of satisfaction, what they went into medicine for, but it can also be sometimes careers advice.’

The rise in demand for the scheme has seen the number of mentors increase from 10 to 30, all of whom are trained GPs that have since been involved in training and education.

Dr Bendefy would not comment on the amount of funding that GP-S has recieved from HEE as it has varied each year.

But she said if a GP is very depressed, the mentor can refer them to the GP health service.

Readers' comments (13)

GP mentoring and support services are vital to maintain workforce health and retention. Appropriate funding is required and the service should be valued and monitored.Additional resources are needed to maintain current workforce morale and numbers.

"She said that after the mentorship programme, some GPs stop being a partner and become a salaried GP or only work part-time, while others remain in their partnership but reduce the number of sessions they do".

In other words reduce the workload.

Having another experienced GP around for a natter might also be a help.

Yup scale that one up. Will cost a lot though. More than 5000 GPs needed Jeremy.

I'd be interested to know in what capacity they are working i.e. how many have left partnership/salaried posts to be locums and how many have reduced sessions ... the reason is that if the scheme has facilitated a loss of permanent staff or reduced sessions it just means that work load gets passed on to someone else. So it is a self-fulfilling scheme to generate more burnt out GPs.

ideally you would solve the core cause - i.e. work load.

however, those GPs need to do what is best for their health and should not feel guilty reducind sessions or changing role BUT those in charge need to look at the bigger picture - it can not be healthy to run a health system ob burnt out staff - can it?

Today I smile :)This is one of the first times where someone has woken up to the plight of GPs burning in the fires of the NHS

This is a start delivering a compassionate offer to GPs working in an environment and workplace devoid of compassion

How else can GPs continue to be compassionate themselves when the system, and let's be honest, often hates them.....

I have always thought that universal mentoring, from medical student years to death, akin to supervision, is vital to the survival of the profession and would enhance patient care exponentially.... more than anything to date.

Establish this at scale and the retention and recruitment problem will reverse in time; the 100 will become 1000 and the 1000 will become tens of thousands.

Raid money from the regulators and other sources and it will be money well taken